In June a mission team of 12 from three Pres-byteries in Texas ventured into the world of fruit...of the Spirit, that is! We traveled to Roma-nia to conduct a Vacation Bible School at the central orphanage in Tulcea as well as several other activities for the children and youth who are under the Child Protection System in Tulcea County. Members of our NOROC team in-cluded: Rich & Carol Schempp, Whit & Barbara Hunt, Bob Covington, Janie Bush, Addison Fitts, Josiah Field, Bobby Ann Anderson, Jennifer Santer, Chris Stillwagon and Mary Ferris. Our theme for the week was “Fruit of the Spirit” which in Romanian is “Roada Duhului”. We were able to share God’s Word and our love with those who are often unloved and forgotten. The presence of NOROC in Tulcea County for the last 15 years has indeed been a bright spot in the lives of these orphaned and abandoned children. We are exceedingly thankful for both your prayerful and financial support of NOROC and of our mission trip.

N O R O C , I n c A b i l e n e T e x a s

S p e c i a l p o i n t s o f i n t e r e s t :

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Apples, Grapes, Pears and Oranges, Oh My! by Carol Schempp, photos by Petru Solca

NOROC News (New Opportunities for Romanian Orphaned Children) A publication of NOROC, Inc., Abilene, Texas Carol Schempp, Editor

J u n e / J u l y 2 0 1 2 V o l u m e 9 , I s s u e 3

Fun...the same in any language photos by Petru Solca

What could be more fun than a trip to the park on a warm summer day? Children from the pre-school group homes joined us for play time and a snack at the Civic Park Playground.

Our group along with some of the older children as we visited one of the local Orthodox monasteries.

P a g e 2

Along with the Bible study time there were lots of “fruity” crafts, games and snacks to keep the inter-est high. And, we can’t forget the singing!

Fruit of the Spirit Galatians 5:22-23

photos by Petru Solca

N O R O C N e w s

Each day over 40 elementary age children attended the VBS. Our Bible Study theme was “Fruit of the Spirit”, writ-ten by Mary Ferris and Janie Bush. A tree on the wall of the dining hall and on t-shirts provided a concrete link to the spiritual fruits which were the focus of the week.

A Little Horse Play Makes Happy Children photos by Petru

P a g e 3 V o l u m e 9 , I s s u e 3

A high interest activity for the middle school age kids was horse back riding. NOROC pro-vides the funds for these peri-odic outings where a veterinar-ian teaches the children about equipment, caring for horses, and how to ride. We sponsored 2 such trips during our week in Tulcea. While some were riding the others worked together on some parachute play. Both ac-tivities required a bit of team work to succeed!

Horseback riding has proved to be extremely therapeutic for the children. It teaches them patience, self-control and re-

spect in addition to being is just plain fun!

Weekly Bible Study/Worship Unites Friends Old & New Photos by Petru Solca

NOROC, Inc. 200 Hedges Abilene, TX 79605

Phone: 1-325-692-0284 Fax: 1-325-692-2143 E-mail: NOROC9@suddenlink.net

NOROC is a Christ-based, non-profit organiza-tion. Noroc is a Romanian word which means "God Bless." We've adopted it as our name be-cause it also reflects our mission: To share God's blessings by providing New Opportu-nities for Romanian Orphaned Children spiritually, developmentally, socially and medically.

NOROC was founded to find ways to nurture these abandoned children. Currently, NOROC's programs are focused in the orphanages of Tul-cea County, Romania. There we try to provide for children in material ways such as providing diapers, school supplies, or adequate shoes. But at an even more basic level of need our organi-zation provides the loving relationships these children so desperately crave thanks to the day to day devotion of our Big Hearted Grannies, Big Hearted Teachers, and Big Hearted Friends. Churches and individual friends cur-rently support this mission. Please join us in our work.

NOROC, Inc.

The Smiles Have It! Photos by Petru Solca

New Opportunities for Romanian Orphaned Children